California Auto Insurance

California General Insurance Information

The state of California is a Tort state.  This means that if the state declares an individual as the cause of an accident, the named person will be required to pay all the damages which result from the accident they caused.  This will include all medical bills and vehicle repairs.  For this reason, insurance companies may encourage you to purchase more than the minimum auto liability insurance required by the state of California.

Insurance companies may decide to exclude household individuals from your policy for various reasons.  These exclusions are legal and will be addressed in the policy or by an endorsement attached to the policy.  If you continue to allow the excluded individual to drive your vehicles, they will not be covered.  Their insurance is invalid as long as they are excluded on the policy. 

California has very strict laws regarding lapsed auto insurance policies.  Your car’s registration can be canceled or suspended if your insurance lapses or is cancelled and not immediately replaced.  Failure to show proof of insurance can result in fines, a suspended license and impoundment of your car. 

The insurance company is allowed to check out your personal credit history when offering you insurance and setting your premium rates.  They may also look at your credit standing, past policy coverage, premiums, and payment history.

The average insurance premium in California was about $846.00 as of 2006.  California has the 16th highest premiums in the United States.  There are 49 state approved insurance companies doing business in the state of California.  The basic insurance policy which provides just the minimum liability coverage required by California is the least expensive policy available from all 49 companies.  The cheapest policy sells for $722.00 per year to a married couple which averages between 9,000 to 16,000 miles per year on their car.  Western United carries this policy and is closely followed by Pacific Specialty whose policy is priced at $769.00 per year.  Of the premiums offered for standard insurance policies, those for young married couples with children were generally cheaper than the other categories.  The married couple with a son is the overall most expensive premium.  With the exception of the basic insurance plan, Wawanesa has the lowest overall premiums in all the standard insurance categories.  The highest premiums overall goes to Infinity in the category of the married couple with a son.  The premium is $12,057.00 per year.

The table below is based on annual premium estimates from October of 2007.  A basic policy includes bodily injury liability of $15,000.00, total liability of $30,000.00, and property damage of $5,000.00.

Married Married Married Young
Couple Couple Couple Family
With Son                       Couple
Standard Basic Standard Standard
          12-20,000 9-16,000 9-16,000 9-16,000
Company           Miles Miles Miles Miles
21st Century $6488.00 $13701.00 $4226.00 $3470.00
AAA $5956.00 $1413.00 $3967.00 $3606.00
Access $9829.00 $2344.00 $4452.00 $3833.00
Affirmative           $11698.00 $2141.00 $3642.00 $3631.00
Allstate           $5584.00 $1579.00 $5351.00 $4972.00
American International
Ins. Co. of CA           $4672.00 $1422.00 $4248.00 $3849.00
Amica Mutual           $5223.00 $$1391.00 $3719.00 $3213.00
Anchor General           $5900.00 $2232.00 $3059.00 $3290.00
Balboa           $5656.00 $1838.00 $5174.00 $3292.00
California Capital           $4464.00 $1224.00 $2904.00 $2644.00
California Casualty           $5267.00 $1180.00 $4042.00 $3280.00
Commerce West           $7168.00 $2526.00 $4338.00 $4164.00
CSE           $5029.00 $1449.00 $3329.00 $3075.00
Encompass           $4255.00 $1184.00 $3597.00 $3046.00
Esurance           $8526.00 $1280.00 $3208.00 $2846.00
Explorer           $6438.00 $1008.00 $3888.00 $3426.00
Farmers/Mid-Century           $10937.00 $1293.00 $3569.00 $3301.00
Financial Indemnity           $7239.00 $1114.00 $3555.00 $2975.00
Fireman’s Fund         $8455.00 $1968.00 $5206.00 $4561.00
GEICO         $3877.00 $1560.00 $3466.00 $3177.00
GMAC/Inetgon Preferred         $11026.00 $1912.00 $3936.00 $3468.00
Hartford         $5634.00 $1602.00 $5006.00 $4370.00
Horace Mann         $3655.00 $881.00 $2418.00 $2336.00
Hudson         $6388.00 $1694.00 $3480.00 $3200.00
IDS Property Casualty         $5000.00 $1108.00 $2942.00 $2778.00
Infinity         $12057.00 $2367.00 $40009.00 $3838.00
Kemper         $4998.00 $1606.00 $2996.00 $2809.00
Liberty Mutual         $9385.00 $1628.00 $5804.00 $4695.00
Lincoln General         $11652.00 $1864.00 $4298.00 $4662.00
Mercury         $3956.00 $930.00 $2632.00 $2480.00
Metropolitan Direct         $7860.00 $1362.00 $5454.00 $4614.00
Nationwide         $5533.00 $1056.00 $3015.00 $2595.00
Pacific Specialty         $4122.00 $769.00 $2027.00 $1787.00
Permanent General         $8157.00 $894.00 $4166.00 $3851.00
Progressive Choice         $7379.00 $1343.00 $3663.00 $3609.00
Progressive West         $8992.00 $1396.00 $4878.00 $4126.00
QBE         $9188.00 $2362.00 $4005.00 $3675.00
Safeco         $2851.00 $1129.00 $3137.00 $3113.00
Safeway         $5637.00 $1976.00 $3426.00 $3174.00
State Farm         $8369.00 $1738.00 $5395.00 $4503.00
Travelers/Standard Fire         $6455.00 $1610.00 $3767.00 $3538.00
Unitrin Direct         $6586.00 $1132.00 $3453.00 $3487.00
USAA         $6026.00 $987.00 $3068.00 $2827.00
Viking         $9145.00 $1254.00 $5395.00 $5208.00
Wawanesa                   $2882.00 $1066.00 $2163.00 $2417.00
Western General         $9033.00 $1187.00 $3323.00 $3035.00
Western United         $6453.00 $722.00 $2740.00 $2442.00
Workmen’s Auto         $7699.00 $1748.00 $2942.00 $2819.00

Things that can help you reduce the cost of your insurance premiums include a clean driving record, the type of vehicle you choose to drive as well as the number of miles you drive per year.  The fewer miles you put on your vehicle each year, the lower your chances are of being involved in an accident.  The reduction in accident risk can translate into a reduction in premiums.  Furthermore, a clean driving record reduces your risk of an accident.  It will be more expensive to insure a luxury car or a sports car.  You should also keep in mind that insurance premiums will be higher on vehicles which are a high priority for thieves.  The cars that made the top 10 stolen vehicles in California are:

1. 1989 Toyota Camry
2. 1991 Honda Accord
3. 1995 Honda Civic
4. 1988 Toyota Pickup
5. 1991 Nisssan Sentra
6. 1990 Acura Integra
7. 1993 Saturn SL
8. 1987 Toyota Corolla
9. 1992 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup (full size)
10. 2000 Ford Mustang